Conventional anomalous cell screening techniques rely on human operators (e.g., a laboratory technician) to identify anomalous cells by screening tissue samples through a microscope. One limitation to conventional screening techniques is that the accuracy varies greatly depending on the experience as well as the visual acuity of the laboratory technician. For example, these conventional techniques can result in high false-negatives in detecting cervical cancer cells, failing to identify many instances of cervical cancer.
Another limitation to conventional screening techniques is that they generally look for known defects instead of identifying cells with normal characteristics to identify other anomalies, whether known or unknown. Another limitation to conventional screening techniques is that they are sometimes limited to detection of anomalies based on a particular set of rules for anomaly detection per screen. Another limitation to conventional screening techniques is that tissue samples are usually sent to an off-site laboratory for the screening, which may add several days, and even weeks, before the results are available. Another limitation to conventional screening techniques is that a laboratory generally performs screening for one or two particular anomalies (e.g., a particular type of cancer) and may be unable to perform screening for other anomalies. Reasons for these limitations are many, and include the skill of the laboratory technicians and the available resources at the site. As a result of these limitations, certain anomalies may go undetected or additional samples and screening may be required.
Another limitation to conventional screening techniques is that use of prior experience in detecting anomalies may not be effectively utilized. In other words, it is sometimes difficult for current screening techniques to improve their accuracy based on prior correct and/or erroneous results, and thus it is difficult for continuous improvement and validation of those screening abilities. Finally, conventional methods of screening generally make use of only one source of images at a time, such as a visible image of a cancer cell as seen through a microscope.
Thus there are general needs for improved systems and methods to detect anomalous targets, particularly for detecting anomalous cells such as cancerous cells. There are also needs for more accurate systems and methods to detect anomalous cells. There are also needs for systems and methods for detecting anomalous cells that provide results quicker, as well as systems and methods that learn from their results to further improve their accuracy. There are also needs for systems and methods for detecting anomalous targets using one or more sources of images simultaneously.